


Rescue

by atoafriend



Series: Animalgam AU [1]
Category: Team Fortress 2
Genre: Animalgam AU, Centaur!Sniper, Human-Animal Hybrids, M/M, Octopus!Spy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-09
Updated: 2017-05-09
Packaged: 2018-10-29 20:20:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,885
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10861374
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/atoafriend/pseuds/atoafriend
Summary: Sniper sets off to help rescue Spy and other members of the team being held prisoner in an enemy base.





	Rescue

They approached the enemy base under the cover of night.  Demo took the lead, his vision, hearing, and sense of smell best suited for nighttime; Sniper brought up the rear, his eyes and ears scanning the surroundings for any sign of outside movement.  Between them were Heavy and Engie, each as alert as they could be in their own way.

Sniper heard a few bushes rustle to the left and raised his rifle to his shoulder, only to lower it when he saw it was only Scout.

"What do we got?" Engie asked.

"The compound's big, but it ain't that secure," Scout reported.  "We should be in and out, no problem."

"Did you find out where everyone is?"

Scout pulled out a folded sheet of paper from his pocket.  On it was a hastily-drawn map of the compound, with X's marking the locations of where each of their teammates were being held prisoner.  Everyone gathered around to take a closer look.

"I will go to east wing first," Heavy said, pointing a clawed finger at the corresponding X.  "We will need Medic first in case others are injured."

"Looks like Soldier and Pyro are both bein' held in the west wing, shouldn't be a problem to get them out," Demo added.

Sniper looked at the lone red X in the center of the compound.  "I'll take the north wing," was all he said.

"That's pretty deep in there, I'll go with you," Engie said.

Sniper shook his head.  "My chances are better if I'm on my own.  Go with Demo, he'll need your help more than me."

"You sure 'bout that?  No offense, but you ain't exactly built for sneakin' around," Scout said, glancing at Sniper's large frame.

"Spy can't walk, and he'll be in no condition to move around on his own.  Heavy's getting Medic, which leaves me as the only other one who can carry him out."

Scout looked like he wanted to protest, his long ears twitching, but he was wise enough to know Sniper was right.  He nodded.

"We'll rendezvous back here in an hour.  Scout, you circle the perimeter and keep an ear out in case they sound the alarm.  We'll need a distraction if that happens," Engie said.

"You got it."

"And Sniper?"

Sniper looked up from checking his rifle; he had lost track of how many times he had done that tonight.

"Be careful in there."

-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Sniper made his way as silently as he could through the labyrinth of darkened hallways.  His progress was much slower than he wanted -- there was no knowing how long their teammates had been trapped in that compound, and he felt his sense of urgency grow stronger with each passing minute -- but every precaution had to be taken to make sure this mission would not be compromised before it began.

Scout was right, he was not built for stealth: his oversized frame was not built for quick, silent bursts of movement.  The hallways were narrow and each time he ducked he felt some part of his body brush against the wall.  This compound clearly had not been built with animalgams of his size in mind.  Luckily, Sniper's footfalls were relatively quiet.  His hooves were hardened from years spent roaming the Outback, so he did not need to wear horseshoes like most other equine animalgams.

Finally he reached the door to where Spy was being kept.  The door was locked.  Sniper listened: there was no sound of movement anywhere in the surrounding hallways.  Evidently they thought that Spy would not be able to escape his holding cell; Sniper grimly agreed.  Rearing back, he kicked the door open, his strength more than enough to break the lock through the frame.

Sniper looked around the cell and saw Spy curled up in the corner, a limp tangle of limbs in the darkness.  At first Sniper thought the worst and that he was too late because Spy did not so much as flinch at the sound of the door breaking open, but then he heard the faint, raspy wheezing coming from him and was immediately filled with relief.  As quickly as he could, he knelt down next to Spy.  "Spy," he whispered, reaching out to gently rest his hand on a prone shoulder.  "Spy, it's me.  I'm here to get you out."

Spy's eyelids fluttered open, his gaze falling on Sniper's face.  Sniper set his rifle down on the floor and removed the water canteen from around his waist -- he had made sure to bring it, knowing that Spy would be severely dehydrated after this much time away from water.  "Here, it's not much, but it should hold you over long enough for us to get you back to base."

Sniper watched as Spy weakly reached for the canteen and began taking slow sips.  The poor man looked half dead -- as far as Sniper was concerned, he _was_ half dead from dehydration.  It was a miracle that Spy was still conscious.  "Listen, I'm gonna get you outta here, ok?" he whispered gently.  "Are you good enough to get up on my back?"

Spy looked up at Sniper again, this time with more clarity in his gaze.  He did not say anything, but he nodded.

Sniper knelt down on the ground and reached out a hand to help, feeling Spy grip his arm weakly as he crawled onto his back.  Once he felt Spy settle into place, Sniper picked up his rifle and slowly stood back up.  "Alright?" Sniper asked.  Spy nodded, the canteen gripped in his arm like his life depended on it.  "Right, let's get out of here."

If making his way into the compound was slow, getting out was even slower.  Sniper was used to carrying heavy loads across long distances, but it was still difficult to maneuver quickly through the narrow hallways without toppling Spy off his back.  Spy's tentacles were wrapped firmly around his waist; the lack of water had dried out the usually slick mucus on his limbs into a sticky residue that clung uncomfortably to his coat and clothes.  He could feel Spy's head pressed against his back between his shoulder blades, his breath still coming out in soft wheezes as he struggled to get enough oxygen through dried gills.

A gunshot rang out somewhere in the compound, and suddenly sirens were blaring as Sniper raised his rifle to his shoulder.  He could hear shouting and more gunshots coming from the other side of the building and the sound of footsteps running towards them, both human and animalgam; they had only minutes before someone found them.

"Hang on!" he yelled at Spy as he took off through the hallways as fast as he could, stealth be damned.  He rounded the corner and burst through the door he came in and out into the cool desert night.  Bullets whizzed past him, but Sniper kept running.  With Spy on his back, there was no time to turn around and fight.  His only hope was that he was fast enough to outrun any other animalgams after him.  He broke out into a full gallop, his hooves kicking up dust as he put as much distance between them and the compound.

Once he was sure they were no longer being followed, he slowed down to a trot.  He wanted to stop and check on Spy, but he knew that the sooner Spy was able to get to water, the better.  Not for the first time, Sniper wondered why on earth a marine animalgam like Spy thought it would be a good idea to take a job out in the middle of the desert.  The grip of his tentacles around his waist was still firm, so at the very least he was uninjured.

The rest of the team was already waiting for them when Sniper reached the rendezvous point.  Scout was bouncing nervously in place, still slightly out of breath from any running he did earlier; Sniper suspected he must have been the one who set off the alarm in order to draw attention away from the rest of the team.  Engie and Demo were standing there with Soldier and Pyro, who looked a little more worse for wear but otherwise seemed okay.  Cradled in Heavy's arms was Medic, who, despite looking like he was in much worse shape than the other two with several broken and missing feathers on his wings, was still making a fuss.  "Ah, you made it!" Medic greeted with a huff.  "We were wondering if we would have to go back for you.  You're not being followed?"

"Nah," Sniper replied, slightly out of breath.  "Those wankers ain't got nothin' on me.  I was built for speed."

"Hey, that's my line!" Scout said.  He took a closer look at Spy.  "Is Legs gonna be okay?"

"He will make it, but we need to move quickly and get him back into water," Medic said, fidgeting in Heavy's arms to find a more comfortable position.

"Then let's get going," Sniper said, reaching an arm behind to give one of Spy's tentacles a reassuring squeeze.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Sniper awoke with a start, searching for the source of the sound that woke him up.  He looked up at the large glass tank in the medical bay he had fallen asleep next to, in which Spy was submerged.  Seeing that he was awake, Spy stopped tapping on the glass.

"Spy," Sniper whispered, pressing a hand to the glass.  "How you feelin'?"

"Much better, thanks to you," Spy replied, bringing up his hand to press back on the other side.  All of his clothes had been removed, including his mask.  Sniper allowed himself to enjoy the sight of Spy's face: the sharp contours, the greying hair, the mottled pattern of his skin under his eyes and around his forehead.

"I wasn't sure if you were going to make it," Sniper said quietly.

"Sniper, please," Spy said, letting out an exasperated sigh.  "I have survived far worse than what I have gone through today.  Give me some credit."

"I know.  Didn't stop me from worrying, though," Sniper replied.

Spy rolled his eyes.  "You equines worry too much.  It's no wonder you chose to shoot people from far away."

"Says the one who hides in the darkness of his little cave all day."

"Touché."

The two of them said nothing for a few minutes.  Sniper watched as cool saltwater filtered through the gills just under Spy's ribcage.

"Thank you, Sniper.  For coming for me," Spy said softly.  "I would offer to return the favor in the future, but between the two of us I do not think I would be able to carry you across a desert," he added in a lighter tone.

Sniper chuckled.  "Well, I don't offer free rides to everyone.  So you should consider yourself lucky that I let you on this time."

"Sadly I was not in a state to enjoy it to the fullest.  I don't suppose there's any chance you could offer me another one?"

"Are you kidding?  All this slime is gonna take hours to scrub off.  I ain't a showhorse, but I've got standards."

"I can help you wash it out afterwards," Spy offered, smirking.

"Hmm," Sniper contemplated, tracing the spots along Spy's finger through the glass.  "I might just be convinced."

**Author's Note:**

> I've had this idea floating around in the back of my mind for a while, and after seeing usedtobehmc's request on Tumblr I decided to write it down as a quick little drabble.
> 
> I'm not sure what to call this AU; I'm hesitant to use "monsters" b/c technically they're not really monsters...? More like...human-animal hybrids? I made up the word "animalgam" so that's what I'm going to use.


End file.
